Question:
[Note that my return address is spam-bounce-enabled.] We just moved into an old-ish house (circa 1950s, I believe), and the heating system consists of two old (original) wall furnaces – one in the bedroom wing, and one in what would have been the family living room (now there is a family room added on to the back of that section of the house, so that particular wall furnace has much more space to heat than originally intended). To be honest, these things scare the heck out of me. We have a baby who is just learning to crawl, and of course they get _very_ hot. [Yes, of course we will do our best to teach him to avoid them, just as one would have done with wood stoves years ago, but they _still_ scare me.] Also, they are just so *old*, and I wonder about their safety generally. Having the flame/heat source be so immediate to where people and pets are walking, sitting, etc., just makes me really uncomfortable. Finally, assuming that they _are_ as safe as, say, your standard modern forced-air system, how about efficiency? On the one hand, I suppose that they might be *more* efficient, as they provide spot heating, rather than having to fire up one mutha-furnace to get heat just to, say, the bedroom wing at night. On the other hand, as I mentioned, they are older, and also at least with respect to the one in the living area of the house, would need to run pretty much constantly to compensate for the increase in area. Any information, advice, anecdotes, etc., would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! [Note that my return address is spam-bounce-enabled.] — I am: mom, attorney, professor, advocate for fathers http://www.parentinglaw.com Actually, I’m a lawyer -and- I play one on tv.
Response:
Safety and Efficiency?: > [Note that my return address is spam-bounce-enabled.] >We just moved into an old-ish house (circa 1950s, I believe), and the >heating system consists of two old (original) wall furnaces – one in the >bedroom wing, and one in what would have been the family living room >(now there is a family room added on to the back of that section of the >house, so that particular wall furnace has much more space to heat than >originally intended).
We live in a house of about the same vintage, and it came with the same two wall heaters. We have since removed one entirely and replaced the other with a more efficient one. I would be very leery of using a gas heater that was that old. For your peace of mind, have them inspected by the PG&E. They used to do it for free, but I don’t know if that is still true. Be warned, though, that if they find a heater defective, they will red-tag it. If you need to replace a heater, it will probably take at least a week. >To be honest, these things scare the heck out of me. We have a baby >who is just learning to crawl, and of course they get _very_ hot. [Yes, >of course we will do our best to teach him to avoid them, just as one >would have done with wood stoves years ago, but they _still_ scare me.]
We had small children when we had the two wall heaters, and there was never any problem. While they do get hot, unlike a wood stove, they don’t get hot enough to burn a child immediately. If you need extra heat, you can get electric space heaters that are very safe and that do not get hot enough on the outside to burn a child. Joan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Any information, advice, anecdotes, etc., would be greatly appreciated! >Thanks!
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